Surgical suture extractor



Jan. 23, 1968 c. B. HOPPE 3,364,572

SURGICAL SUTURE EXTRACTOR Original Filed Oct. 27, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 1I N VENTOR.

cum-us a. HOPPE H/S ATTORNEYS Jan. 23, 1968 c. B. HOPPE 3,364,572

SURGICAL SUTURE EXTRACTOR Original Filed 001:. 27, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2F IG 5 L45 .2-? f? w 59 53a fila lie 5.5:;

INVENTOR. CLEMENS B HOPPE M,6CM mf -4546M ,q 5 ATTORNEYS United StatesPatent 3,364,572 SURGICAL SUTURE EXTRACTOR Clemens B. Hoppe, P.O. Box590, Palm Beach, Fla. 33480 ()riginal application Oct. 27, 1964, Ser.No. 406,861, now Patent No. 3,328,876, dated July 4, 1967. Divided andthis application Dec. 21, 1966, Ser. No. 623,159

4 Claims. (Cl. 30124) This application is a division of my applicationSer. No. 406,861 filed Oct. 27, 1964, now Patent No. 3,328,876.

This invention relates to instruments for removing sutures and moreparticularly to a device to be used by surgeons to facilitate thelifting of sutures after they have been cut. More especially theinvention relates to an improved device for severing a suture andsubstantially simultaneously gripping the cut-off thread or stitch sothat it can be removed in substantially a single motion of the surgeonshand.

In accordance with the invention the instrument comprises a slenderelongated device in the form of a tweezers, havir means at its outer oroperating end for engaging and holding a suture, together with a knifearranged to be slidable adjacent the operating end of the device, andmeans near the grasping portion of the device operable by the handincluding one or more of the fingers for causing the knife to slideforward and sever the suture close to the point where it is engaged andheld at the outer end of the device.

The invention will be better understood from a consideration of theaccompanying drawings and also from the detailed description following.

In these drawings:

FIGS. 1-4 show a tweezer type device embodying the invention, FIG. 1showing a side view, FIG. 2 being a side view at right angles to FIG. 1and looking from the left of that figure; FIG 3 being an end viewlooking from the top of FIG. 1 and FIG. 4 being an enlarged fragmentaryview of the outer portion of the parts shown in FIG. 2;

FIGS. 5-7 show a modification, FIG. 5 being a side view of the upper endportion of the device, FIG. 6 a sectional view taken on line 66 of FIG.5 and drawn to a larger scale, and FIG. 7 being an end view from the topof FIG. 5.

Referring to FIGS. 14 the tweezers device has blades 47 and 48 which arewelded together at their butt ends as indicated at 49, the former bladebeing straight and the latter advantageously curved outwardly as shownin FIG. 2 to provide a protuberance 50 to be engaged by the index finger46 for manipulating the tweezers to grasp the suture. At their operatingends tweezer blades 47 and 43 are provided with narrow jaws 51 and 52which may be square in end view as shown in FIG. 3.

The knife 53 has an angular cutting edge as shown in FIG. 2 and isprovided with a holder 54 which slides on the upper portion of jaw 51(FIG. 3). Holder 54 has an extension 55 into which the outer end of theactuating rod Be is threadedly connected. Rod 13:: slides in twobearings 56 which are secured to the outer surface of blade 47. Thethumb piece 57 is secured to the butt end Patented Jan. 23, 1968 ofoperating rod 132. A retracting spring 58 is arranged between thumbpiece 57 and the adjacent bearing 56.

The device is adapted to be grasped by the hand and the tweezersoperated by the index finger (FIG. 2) while the cutting knife isoperated by the end of the thumb.

Shown in FIGS. 5-7 is a variation of the construction shown in FIGS.1-4, the difference being that the narrow jaws 51a and 5211 are slottedas indicated at 59, and the knife blade 53a operates within this slotinstead of sliding along the sides of the two jaws as in the form shownin FIGS. 14. The shank 60 of blade 53a is longer than in the case ofblade 53, but otherwise the mounting including extension 55a, and theoperating of the blade by actuating rod 132 is the same.

As may be understood from FIG. 5, the slots 59, one in each blade 51 and52, are aligned with each other transversely and because of these slotsblades 51a and 52a have cooperating gripping portions on opposite sidesof the knife 53a so that the suture is gripped on both sides of theknife during the cutting of the suture.

I claim:

1. An instrument for removing sutures comprising a tweezer-like deviceadapted to be grasped by the hand having two cooperating blades joinedto one another at the inner end portion of each blade and resilientlyspaced apart at the outer end portions and operable to grip a suturebetween said outer end portions, said blades having transversely alignedslots one in each blade extending lengthwise of the blades throughoutthe gripping portions of the blades, a knife holder mounted for slidingmovement on the device and including a knife positioned within saidslots and arranged to span the gripping portions of the blades whenclosed upon a suture, and means mounted on one side of the deviceoperable by the hand which grasps the device for moving the knife holderoutwardly to cause the knife to sever the suture held by the tweezerblades.

2. An instrument for removing sutures as set forth in claim 1 whereinthe transversely aligned slots extend lengthwise outwardly beyond theregion of the blades where the suture is gripped so that the blades gripthe suture in two spaced locations on opposite sides of the blade as theknife cuts the suture.

3. An instrument for removing sutures as set forth in claim 1 whereinthe blade on the opposite side of the device from the knife operatingmeans has a protuberance to be engaged for manipulating the tweezers togrip the suture.

4. An instrument for removing sutures as set forth in claim 1 in whichthe knife holder is mounted on a rod arranged to slide in spacedbearings mounted on one of the blades.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 605,400 6/189'8 Crockett 301352,819,521 1/1958 Parker 30135 3,054,182 9/1962 Whitton 30233 X 3,175,5563/1965 Wood et al 30-124 X OTHELL M. SIMPSON, Primary Examiner.

R. V. PARKER, JR., Assistant Examiner.

1. AN INSTRUMENT FOR REMOVING SUTURE COMPRISING A TWEEZER-LIKE DEVICEADAPTED TO BE GRASPED BY THE HAND HAVING TWO COOPERATING BLADES JOINEDTO ONE ANOTHER AT THE INNER END PORTION OF EACH BLADE AND RESILIENTLYSPACED APART AT THE OUTER END PORTIONS AND OPERABLE TO GRIP A SUTUREBETWEEN SAID OUTER END PORTIONS, SAID BLADES HAVING TRANSVERSELY ALIGNEDSLOTS ONE IN EACH BLADE EXTENDING LENGTHWISE OF THE BLADES THROUGHOUTTHE GRIPPING PORTIONS OF THE BLADES, A KNIFE HOLDER MOUNTED FOR SLIDINGMOVEMENT ON THE DEVICE AND INCLUDING A KNIFE POSITIONED WITHIN SAIDSLOTS AND ARRANGED TO SPAN THE GRIPPING PORTIONS OF THE BLADES WHENCLOSED UPON A SUTURE, AND MEANS MOUNTED ON ONE SIDE OF THE DEVICEOPERABLE BY THE HAND WHICH GRAPS THE DEVICE FOR MOVING THE KNIFE HOLDER